Put the vegetable oil, garlic and parsley into a food processer and blend until dark green.

Pass the oil through a fine mesh sieve with a clean microfibre cloth (if you have one).

Slice the watermelon, place in a zip-lock bag and close it almost all the way, leaving a small hole to insert a straw.

Pop the straw in and suck the air out. Quickly pull the straw out and zip the bag fully shut.

Wait 20 minutes, then cube the melon.

Cube half the feta and save the other half to crumble later.

Cover the feta cubes with the flour, egg yolk and panko breadcrumbs. Fry off just before serving.

Peel the yellow and purple carrots and save the orange ones. Create fine strips and seal along with the balsamic vinegar in a zip-lock bag, using the same process as for the melon, and set aside for two hours.

Quarter the baby carrots lengthwise and set aside.

Finely chop the orange carrots and add to a pan with a block of butter.

Season and cook until completely soft. Blend in a food processer until smooth and pass it through a sieve.

Swipe the carrot puree on a plate, and roll up the pickled carrots. Place the watermelon, quartered carrots, and fried feta on the plate and crumble the remaining feta on top.

Add the green oil and fresh herbs.

You really can play around with the plating up of this dish because there’s no right or wrong way. You can also add a little rocket for a peppery flavour.

For a real Christmas twist, make a cranberry dressing to top the salad with a simple mix of cranberry sauce, vinegar and olive oil.

Combine all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Adjust the amount of vinegar to taste and chill for 30 minutes before serving.

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Wheatberry specialises in healthy food, including vegetarian and vegan.

But this tart recipe using readymade puff pastry (most are vegan unless you go for the all butter option. It’s a good idea to always have a packet handy in the freezer) proves that good food can be both fast, tasty and eye-catching.

You can make the topping as exotic or pared back as you want, and the recipe can be customised to accommodate dietary requirements, whether your guest is an omnivore, vegetarian or vegan.

A fantastic last minute Christmas dinner main, this tart can also be sliced into 12 finger buffet portions for a party treat.

Savoury festive tart

Vicky Turnbull with her festive tart (Image: newcastle chronicle)

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15 minutes

You will need 30cm x 20cm baking tray

Ingredients:

250g readymade puff pastry

Olive oil

Egg or milk for glazing

Toppings:

The Mediterranean:

Tomato paste

Olives

Sundried tomatoes

Pesto

Vegetarian or vegan cheese of your choice

Billy the Kid:

Red onion marmalade

Goats’ cheese

The Vegan:

Red Onion marmalade

Crushed peas

Asparagus

Broccoli

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6/400F.

Roll out the pastry to a rectangle to fit your baking sheet. Take a knife and score a 1cm line all around the edge.

Add the topping of your choice to your tart. Don’t overload as this may result in a soggy bottom!